National Newswatch – John Milloy

Police and politics can be a dangerous mix

Milloy is concerned that when tensions between political parties rise, the parties increasingly call in the police to regulate the concern. A letter to the police, a tip to a friendly journalist, and a scandal is born. “But by involving law enforcement you also risk doing extraordinary damage to personal reputations. This is especially true when political staff is involved – those behind-the-scenes hardworking people who have little ability to publicly defend themselves…This would be fine if the police actually found something. Most investigations go nowhere and the tiny fraction that do go before the courts tend to be thrown out because 99 per cent of the time the case simply revolves around politics as usual.” http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2016/11/25/police-and-politics-can-be-a-dangerous-mix/

Globe and Mail – Laura Stone

Howard Sapers: The man tasked to solve Canada’s corrections problem

Sapers is finishing up a 12 year term as the Correctional Investigator for Corrections Canada. Three days after the completion, he moves to the Ontario provincial level to lead the reform of the Ontario correctional system. He has been an outspoken critic of the use of solitary confinement, an Ontario practice which likely is accountable for his new position: “Segregation is the most austere form of confinement that we have in this country,” Mr. Sapers said…”I think that there should be limits. I don’t think that segregation should be allowed to carry on indefinitely.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/howard-sapers-the-man-tasked-to-solve-canadas-corrections-problem/article33057109/

University of Toronto – Anthony Doob and Rosemary Gartner

Criminological Highlights – Nov. 2016

The journal offers the usual series of research papers including:

Are the harmful effects on children of the imprisonment of a parent short-lived? 2. When are crime prevention programs cost-effective? 3. Does the research evidence suggest that body-worn cameras change police behaviour? 4. Why are victims of violent crimes likely also to commit violent offences? 5. Should cities invest in ‘street-workers’ to help get people to quit being gang members? 6.What should we think about when creating programs to help ex-prisoners re-enter society? 7. Does sending people to prison deter them from committing offences in the future? 8. Why can’t we assume that a crime prevention program that has been shown to be effective will, in fact, be effective when implemented in a new setting?